Two new field managers have joined the Soil Health Partnership, a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Abigail Peterson and Alex Fiock will help manage the growing number of farmers enrolled in the program in Illinois and Indiana.
“As we have expanded to 111 farms in 12 states a year ahead of schedule, our need for additional staff has grown as well,” said SHP Director Nick Goeser. “We welcome Abigail and Alex to the partnership and look forward to their expertise and enthusiasm.”
SHP field managers help new farmers get started in the program with identifying the practices that will work best for them to improve soil health on their farms, and assist with implementation, soil sampling, and education. Common practices changed on the farm include the use of cover crops, conservation tillage and advanced nutrient management. Field managers also help organize, attend and offer presentations at field days. Their...

A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help spur a groundbreaking effort to optimize farm enterprise profitability, reduce Greenhouse Gases and improve agronomic productivity. The National Corn Growers Association received the grant to develop a system for scalable carbon accounting in agriculture, to be developed through its Soil Health Partnership initiative.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this year's Conservation Innovation Grant recipients on September 8. The competitive grant "stimulates the development and adoption of innovative approaches and technologies for conservation on agricultural land."
Under the NCGA project, the SHP and other project partners will develop a "greenhouse gas insetting framework." The framework will serve as a model for corporations and other entities to drive conservation adoption and achieve GHG reductions, as well as economic profitability benefits.
Carbon insetting is similar to "offsetting," in...